Yeah you heard it, there is a leak ! It’s a pretty interesting leak actually by Modeselektor. His album Monkeytown due at the end of this month has leaked throughout the pipes of the interweb… It was getting late, it’s been out for a week already !

ANYWAYS ! Pretty decent stuff on this album, usually not a big fan of his but I like the fact that he worked with samples of Thom Yorke/Radiohead and even some Busdriver material. All this makes the album a level higher in my heart.

DAMN ! That TV Show is driving me completely insane!! I’ve watched 3 seasons of Breaking Bad in the last week and it is EPIC. This whole story of a boring father/chemistry teacher starting to cook meth and run over people with his car after being diagnosed with lung cancer… It’s pretty crazy, but MAN do I like it. Anyways, apart from the TV show itself, I’ve heard some pretty sweet songs in a few episodes that I wanted to share with you guys. So here it is

If you guys haven’t heard it already, The Shivers that I talked about before leaving on my epic journey around the world released a new album called More. As always, it is special, a unique kind of sound that only this band can produce. It’s worth a listen I think, didn’t find a song like Beauty, but there is still some quality sound in there.

While I was gone, a lot of bands I love released some albums that are not bad at all (Lykke Li, Radiohead, Bon Iver, blablabla), but I was very shocked to learn that the bassist of TV on the Radio died of lung cancer 9 days after the release of their last album Nine Types Of Light. Good album in general, as I said for The Shivers there’s nothing I fell in love straight away with like in the times of Staring at the Sun, but I’m still enjoying it ! Very sad for the death of Gerard Smith… the band will never be the same with a member gone for good… R.I.P. my friend…

Here I am, back in Montreal after 6 months of running around the world with my (now lost) backpack. The blog is still standing, the music is still flowing, I’m happy. What have I seen during this trip some may ask ? Way too much for me to start describing on the blog, but what I’ve heard, that I can share with you guys.

The village where I was staying was a refugee point for a lot of Tibetan monks. Photo by Joel Suganth

One artist in India was leading the enormous trance scene (the Israelis brought the trance to India, it’s everywhere in the country now) and is creating some pretty insane beats. His name, a lot of people know it, is Shpongle. The track right here, Nothing Is Something Worth Doing, is a beautiful mix of beats and magnificient instruments, mostly the Hang drum, an instrument I was very lucky to hear and see live while I was traveling India. Never have I heard such a sound, it reminds me of flowing water (don’t ask me why, my brain has been scarred by this trip). Just give it a listen, it’s amazing and the title of this track is just perfect, the lifestyle of India.

During my travels, I was lucky enough to be able to buy a cheap guitar in Istanbul and keep it with me until the very end of my trip. As a matter of fact, I was even able to bring it back to Montreal. I jammed a lot while I was running around and played with a lot of different people from all over the world. The thing that I liked the most was playing with people who had instruments I had never heard. During the trip, I tried the mandolin, the oud, the didgeridoo, the djembe, the tabla, the bansuri and many more instruments that completely blew my mind.Here is a little video of a japanese man named Koji that I saw playing the didgeridoo many times… so full of talent (he also plays the hang drum, check out his youtube channel).

NOW, I HAVE to post this song that Jeesus (it’s funny how right now I’m the one who looks like Jesus physically but he is the one named Jeesus…) showed me, an amazing song, quality electronic music like you don’t hear everyday… It’s from Flying Lotus and it’s gonna get your swag on bitches ! Just give it a go and you’ll see what I mean, you too will FEEEeeel that shit.

Haven’t posted in a while… One reason : trip. Leaving for about 6 months around the Mediterranean sea with a backpack and myself. Can’t really think straight since I’m leaving in 4 days and the situation in Egypt (I’m landing there) is getting pretty crazy. Will I see Egypt ? I dearly hope so.

Here is a song I found on another blog that I find… well… magnificent. Nothing special about the voice, nothing special about the melody, but it just fits together so beautifully. Here is the blog too : SYNESTHESIA. Photographies and music… enough said. Here is a little myspace profile for those who don’t know The Shivers. Their other songs are not so different from Beauty, so go ahead and have a look.

Kinda had an overdose (not that it’s possible) in the last weeks… But damn when I listen to that song, it’s just… I don’t know I have the feeling that I’m floating IN the song…

Broken Bells really make me go crazy with their insane album. I REALLY hope that they are going to show up one day in Montreal and I won’t know and just end up passing by the Metropolis and hear a scalper saying in a low voice (I don’t get it, are they trying to be subtile ? DOESN’T WORK!) “Hey, Broken Bells tickets, the show is sold out, want one?”. I’ll be looking at him with a spliff in my mouth : “How much…?” thinking of a price around 100$. “Well, just give me the rest of that blunt and I’ll give you my last one”… Hell of a deal !

Aaaaah the good ol’ sound of blues. Will never get tired of this music. Here the long gone Elmore James sings us a song about the way back home. YES, I will be coming back home and I hope that on this day, I will know…

Emotions emotions emotions, all day everyday… In my head, out of it, flying everywhere you go, all around you… Some people call those “God” because they are with every single person on earth…

Happiness

I was very happy to stumble upon two artists that I really appreciate on the Blogothèque french blog. I already talked about their concept in an older post. It’s pretty simple, they invite the best artists to do some “take away shows” for a bunch of lucky people (I wish I was one of them).

So ! I found two live songs from The Morning Benders and Aloe Blacc. The one from The Morning Benders was supposed to be released on their Big Echo album but they didn’t have time to record it. They played it for the few lucky people who were attending their “take away show” in Paris last summer AND… well aren’t we lucky they also posted it online for the fans :D

Two more songs that, this time, brought me satisfaction. Directly taken from the Dark Was The Night playlist (it’s amazing…incredible…magnificient).

The first one is from Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner. A beautiful duo that soothes my mind, sometimes my pain and now the cold which is starting to get a little too comfortable around here. I have always loved Justin’s voice, it takes me to places I can’t really go with my body so I use my mind …

The next one is from Andrew Bird, an artist that I didn’t know until I listened to this incredible song. A very calm and soothing voice once again. Everytime I listen to this song I feel good, cool, a smile is slowly drawn on my face. It’s a must hear for everybody.

She always seems heartbroken when she sings about love… Taken from a classic, Julia Stone covers You’re The One That I Want which is usually sung by Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson. At first I didn’t think I would like her version of this Grease song but I was greatly surprised. It’s amazing… So much emotion, the song takes a brand new meaning… AND I was dressed as Mr Zuko for Halloween… ;)

What ?! Fistful of Mercy‘s album is out and I didn’t even hear it ? Daaammnnn. Yeah, I was late for this one too… Beautiful album. Those three musical geniuses made it in 3 days… It’s amazing (who would have thought less). I didn’t like the song they chose to sing on Jimmy Fallon’s late show though. Here’s an instrumental song I really enjoyed. They’re all so good with their guitars, it makes me cry…

Yes, sadness is part of my life. Some songs are responsible for that sadness sometimes. Some just make it easier and others make me remember some hard parts of my life. The song I Was Young When I Left Home sang by Antony from Antony and the Johnsons is beautiful. Like chat likes to say, this man looks like he is crying everytime he sings. It seems like he has suffered so much his tears are now part of his voice… Listen to this one and you will understand what I mean…

Fall is still making us all melancholic here in Montreal as its dead colorful leaves are covering the grass and its naked trees are slowly starting to appear. I have the feeling that everything is falling around us and I take refuge in some old songs that make this feeling even stronger. I will share these songs with you guys. Some are old and some are new, but I love every single one of them. Hope you can enjoy this playlist as much as I do.

As the title says, there will be a very violent crime committed in Montreal on Wednesday night. This crime is called BASS DRIVE and will be located at Belmont.

DUBSTEP FANS LISTEN UP ! Bar9 will be performing at Belmont this wednesday night for the cheap cost of 10$. Think about it… getting your ears blown out for 10$ is freaking worth it ! For the people who aren’t very informed on the dubstep scene, Bar9 are crazy. Dubstep duo from England, their tracks are so violent you’ll be filled with bass for a month. Here’s some tracks you may wanna listen to :

A friend of mine will be playing before : Victor Hacala. Don’t underestimate the local scene people because this man is a sickass musician, DJ and dub producer. His tracks are crazy and will make you go DAMN !! He used to be resident at Warehouse, played many times at Koï and played before Flux Pavillon and Datsik at Foufs not so long ago and he will now make you all BOOOUUNNCCEEE at Belmont. Keep an eye out for this man, he even plays live guitar and bass on stage (insane, I know).

Temperature is starting to drop in Montreal and already we are getting ready for some insane nights in Montreal. For all of those who went to Osheaga and got the green surprise (upcoming shows piece of paper), you surely jumped in excitment. I know I did.

It’s time for all the groopies to go search the web for some awesome artists coming to Montreal in the upcoming months. I know I’m going to at least 3 shows (for now). Angus & Julia stone have caught my eye, The Tallest Man on Earth will surely see my face and I won’t be missing Eels.

I’ve heard about Ratatat coming to Montreal in September (the 7th, already sold out for sure…). Artists such as Two Door Cinema Club, Vampire Weekend, First Aid Kit, The XX, Jamie Lidell and Roger Waters (Holy Mother Of God) are also stopping by this great city of ours. Blonde Redhead is also coming with Pantha du Prince opening for her, might be a very interesting show. Caribou is stopping by Le National in September as well as Ok GO! in October.

Right now I wish I could be… sailing to nowhere would be the most elegant solution to my situation. A great escape into the wild. My choice isn’t too far from this though. Leaving for a few days to the Canadian countryside, relaxing in a roundhouse cabin on the Lac Saint-Jean will make everything better, I know it.

Another great thing will be waiting for me when I come back : Osheaga Festival(tickets still available BTW). Planning on going alone for a second year, music will be my only friend (eeeeemo). So many incredible bands that I discovered through this blog will be attending this year’s festival and I have the strong feeling that it will be epic.

Beach House was the band that I wanted to see live at the very start. Their style reminded me of the old bands of the 60s with their dreamy music. Psychedelicious shiiiite :) Since I’ve always dreamt of being at the ’69 Woodstock Fest, this was the closest I could get for the moment …still very, VERY, freaking far… :(

But then I went DEEPER into the band list and found out about… The Morning Benders (GOD YES), The Black Keys, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (:D), The National (ZOMG), Horse Feathers, Major Lazer (their last show in Montreal was insane), Snoop Dogg (never saw him live), We Are Wolves, Metric, Pawa Up First

Now would be the time to post the biggest mashup of all those bands but I WON’T… because it would sound like shit :) Soooo I will just tell all you guys from Montreal and around to BUY SOME TICKETS FOR THIS AWESOME FESTIVAL ! Seriously, live music in the warmth of summer is such a wonderful experience. And it’s a good way of MAYBE meeting some bands (we never know what surprise life has in its pockets for YOU). It’s also a great way of discovering some new bands !

Groove Attic is a great funky band from Montreal. Their music is so groooooovaaayyyy they are worth a listen in my opinion. I’ve heard that they are pretty awesome live ;) They are playing with La Strada from Broooklyyyyn (damn right). La Strada has a very nice style. Check out their myspace if you don’t know them. I really love their music. “Drawing on Jungian archetypes, folk tales and Franco-Baltic harmonies, La Strada offers up the best of the New York indie scene: interesting music made by talented people who have a point of view and a love for what they do.”–The Huffington Post

My personal favorite this week. Five Alarm Funk is a band from Vancouver that has the best style ever. A funky kind of music that will make you dance your ass off. Give their myspace a listen because you will get blown away. They are playing with Bananafish, a local band that mixes instruments in a pretty awesome way. They have a jazzy/progressive style that has to be beautiful in concert. The last band is another local creation. The Tanya, Emilie and Ali Band have this soothing indie acoustic style that we all love. They will all be there at Divan Orange this Thursday. Check out the BookFace event.

Last show of the week featuring another local band : This Invention Matters. An pop band that makes me think about the bands we used to listen to when we were younger. They will be playing live with a Winnipeg based band Royal Canoe. These guys have some awesome songs, check them out on myspace (link above). Another funky style that meets afro-beat to make a inspiring style.

All of those shows are organized by Indie Montreal. Go to their site to have all the info you need about the upcoming shows. The tickets to the shows are all under 10$ so GO CHECK IT OUT !

We will be getting some tickets for the other shows coming at the end of the month so get ready for a little ticket giveaway guys :)

Here’s a little song for you guys who are waiting for Osheaga to come :)